Evertrust Rehouse Group (永慶房產集團) aims to add 24 new offices by the end of this year as it seeks to gain a greater share of the local property market, top officials said yesterday.
Evertrust chairman Sun Ching-yu (孫慶餘) announced the expansion plan at a news conference in Taipei, even though a lukewarm market put more than 700 real-estate agencies out of business in the past three years.
The group, which also owns U-Trust Realty Co (有巢氏) and Taiching Realty Co (台慶房屋), said the market took a downturn in 2015 and has since remained listless.
“Nevertheless, the trend has enabled the group to grow its market share, from less than 20 percent by transaction value, to 30 percent at present... We aim to increase this figure to 40 percent by the end of the year,” Sun said.
All together, the three brands are looking to open 130 new outlets this year, raising their presence to 30 percent by the number of offices, the company said.
The group commands leading positions in 19 cities in terms of office number, with a 50 percent share in Hsinchu and a 45 percent share in Kaohsiung, the company said, citing data from the Web sites of peers.
Evertrust is adding 24 new offices in the Greater Taipei area by the year-end with office heads in their early 30s, it said, adding that the new offices will be concentrated in districts where transactions still have room for improvement.
On average, Evertrust office chiefs earn between NT$1.8 million and NT$2 million a year (US$58,559 and US$65,066), as diligence pays off, Sun said.
To recruit talent, Evertrust offers new employees a monthly wage of NT$50,000 for up to nine months and flexible working hours, it said.
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